Racing diary

As Quixall Crossett - racing's world record loser with more than 100 consecutive defeats - inches towards retirement, a successor has emerged. Take A Turn looked every bit a real loser in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday when he finished last at 500-1.

Arsenal fans could be right to call Juventus supporters - in town for tonight's Champions League tie at Highbury - a bunch of donkeys. For Juve's new training ground is Turin racecourse which the club has bought to convert into Europe's premier stateofthe-art facility. Who mentioned Tony Adams?

Hong Kong stages the climax of the international Flat racing year on 16 December - the final leg of the Emirates World Racing Series - but it's more likely to be a damp squib.
The series began in March with the $6 million Dubai World Cup and has featured 10 other races from Australia to America.
The final round for the Hong Kong Cup, with points on the line towards the title of world champion and a $1million first prize, will be run at the state-of-the-art Sha Tin racecourse.
There should be a real sense of anticipation . . . except that Fantastic Light has already built up an unassailable lead and will actually be well into his second month of retirement when the series concludes.

Hats off to Laura Hillenbrand, winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year last week with Sea Biscuit - The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse.
For further proof of the book's quality, log on to www.seabiscuitonline.com where readers are invited to post their thoughts.
Nick from Illinois was left thinking of "all the Sea Biscuits in the world who we passed by as we zip along life's journey too busy to stop and think of the possibilities, be they man or beast". Says it all really.

Stuck in traffic on Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup day last weekend and missed the first race? Silly question, of course.
Congestion is also likely to be heavy on Boxing Day for the big King George VI meeting at Kempton Park, but leaving should be the main worry. After all, Kempton did serve as a prisoner of war camp for six years from 1939.